Discussions
by iamsoproh
Summary: During Bowser's most recent kidnapping attempt, Peach notices that he seems different than before. Did something happen on the journey through Bowser's body to make him act quiet and distant, and to make him have to think so deeply? Takes place after Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Disclaimer: I don't own Mario, unfortunately. Eventually Bowser/Starlow
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello readers of fanfiction! This is my first attempt at posting a story, so I promise that I'll try to make it not horrible. I apologize for any odd errors, I'm typing this on my iPhone and it keeps wanting to change Bowser into BowsEd. Now, be warned that this is a Bowser/Starlow thing (I know that some people don't like this pairing) and may contain a few minor spoilers for Bowser's inside story. Otherwise, enjoy!**

/(._.)/

It was a sunny day throughout the Mushroom Kingdom; pixls and star sprites danced together, while toads laughed and played in each little village. On the very edge of the Kingdom, however, there was a... dark spot on the map. This was a place where sunshine was rarely seen, and even more rarely cared about. The only ones who dared to enter this place were the baddest of the bad, along with the bravest of the heroes to foil their plots. It just so happened that in this place, known as "the Darklands," there were two individuals sulking and waiting for this brave hero to arrive.

King Bowser sat on his large, custom throne, lost in his own thoughts. Princess Peach, who was sitting beside him as a "prisoner" (Bowser hadn't bothered with a cage, but she was still technically a captive), thought that this was quite strange. Normally, whenever she was kidnapped, Bowser would go on and on about himself and why he was "so super awesome."

'Did we mess up his brain while we were adventuring?' Peach thought to herself. Indeed, it had only been about two weeks since she and many of her friends had been sucked into Bowser's body; two weeks since they defeated Fawful, and two weeks since they met Starlow the Star Sprite. Of course, Bowser was already back to his old kidnapping game, and Peach was expecting to suffer through more "Bowser is awesome" speeches and more made up stories about defeating Mario; but they never came. 'In fact, he's barely said a word to me since he picked me up in his clown car,' Peach thought to herself, 'I wonder if something's bothering him?'

Beginning to worry for the Koopa King, who had actually just helped to save her from the clutches of an even more evil being, Peach decided to ask what was on his mind. "umm... Bowser?" Peach began.

Bowser seemed to snap out of a trance. "What?" he asked, turning to look at Peach.

"Are you feeling alright? It seems like you've actually been _thinking_ about something."

Bowser seemed to turn red for a minute before shaking his head and turning back towards the window. "I'm _fine_... I'm not thinking about _anyone_!" he grumbled.

Peach was a bit shocked, but then grinned and giggled at what she heard. "Any_one_?" she clarified.

"Yeah, nobody," Bowser replied, obviously lying.

'How cute!' Peach thought to herself, 'Bowser has a crush! Let's see, who could it be? Bowser's never acted like this before, so it must be someone that we've met within the past two weeks... Oh! I've got it!'

"So, you're not even thinking about... Starlow?" Peach asked.

Bowser seemed confused for a moment. "Who?"

Peach rolled her eyes before replying, "Chippy."

At the mention of the Star Sprite's temporary fake name, Bowser blushed once again and angrily replied with, "Of course not! The Koopa King does not get crushes!"

Peach now had all of the information that she needed. She smiled and shook her head; "Oh, come on, Bowser. You can tell ME, right?" peach asked, giving him a glare.

"I... I don't..." Bowser began, attempting to look Peach in the eye. "I... Oh, fine," he sighed, breaking under her stare, "maybe I do sortakindofalittlebit like her," Bowser admitted, his blush intensifying, "But nobody needs to know, OK?"

Peach squealed with delight. "I knew it!" she screamed, "you should tell her!"

"What? NO, NEVER!" Bowser roared, shaking the castle. "What if she turns me down? I would look weak in front of my minions AND Mario! Maybe, if I just kidnap her..."

"No! Bowser, that will never work!" Peach intervened. "Come on, all you have to do is say it!"

"No. I... Just can't. The same way that you can't tell Mario, I just can't do it," Bowser replied.

Now it was Peach's turn to blush. "Hey! W-wait a minute, t-that's completely irrelevant!" she sputtered.

"Ugh, whatever. I'm done here," Bowser huffed, before turning back to his map of the eight worlds. Typically, small blinking dots would appear wherever "Mario and Green 'Stache are jumping around." Before Peach and Bowser had started talking, three colorful dots had been traveling through world 5; now, however, they were nowhere to be seen, which made Peach hopeful and Bowser confused.

"Hey... Where'd they-" Bowser never got to finish because at that moment, the door to the throne room came crashing down. Peach could just barely make out the silhouettes of two heroes with a small guiding Star Sprite floating behind them.

"Mario!" Peach cried out from behind Bowser.

"Mario!" Bowser snarled at his enemy.

Mario grinned and waved at Peach before turning towards the Koopa King. "Give her back, Bowser!"

"Yeah, Bowser, why do we have to go through this every other week with you?" Luigi added

Starlow joined in, saying, "it's only been two weeks since we worked together; can't we just get along?"

Bowser froze and blushed at the sound of "Chippy's" voice, but soon was able to shake it off enough to let out a hardy fake laugh. "BWAHAHAHA! If you want the princess back so much, then you're gonna have to fight me for her!" he declared.

"If you say so," Mario said, accepting the challenge. "Letsa-go!"

"Okey Dokey!" Luigi replied, jumping into the battle with his bro. Starlow decided to stay off to the side with Peach and use her powers to weaken Bowser untill the brothers needed help dodging flames.

"Hey, bro, use a jump helmet!" Luigi suggested. Mario nodded and threw one of the bouncy hats towards his bro. Luigi backed up just enough to have a shot at getting an excellent, and let Mario start jumping. Mario bounced one, two, three, four, five times on the helmet, each jump better than the last, before finally reaching the Koopa King. The room exploded in orange as he earned an excellent and took away over 100 HP.

Already weakened by the Star Sprite's power, Bowser fell to the ground, defeated. Mario high fived his bro before walking over to check on Peach. "Are you OK?" Mario asked.

"Yes, I'm fine; thank you for saving me, Mario," Peach replied, smiling at her hero.

"Hehe, anytime," Mario said, beginning to blush as he escorted Peach out of the room.

The two heroes and Peach waited for a moment before Starlow said, "go ahead, guys; I'll catch up." She and Bowser were now the only ones in the room.

"So... You were defeated again, I see?" Starlow said.

Bowser could feel his cheeks burning up, so he simply buried his face in his arm and replied with a grunt.

"I guess you're not very talkative after you've been defeated, are you?" Starlow asked.

"No, I guess not," Bowser replied, keeping his head down. 'Should I tell her now?' he asked himself.

"Well... I hope you'll have a nice rest-of-the-day anyways. See you around." With this, Starlow gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to join the others.

"W-wait!" Bowser called, but it was too late; she had already left.

Maybe he could try again next time? He'd have to wait and see.

/(._.)/

**A/N Wow, depressing ending is depressing. That's not exactly how I expected this to turn out, but I kind of like it. Should I continue this into a two or three shot? Should I leave it as it is? Feel free to review! Nice reviews are nice, reviews with constructive criticism are appreciated, and even flames are loved. Hope you enjoyed it :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello, awesome people who are reading this! I'm so sorry for the lateness of this update, but I have good news: I finished playing through Bowser's inside story (again), and I'm ready to take on Dream Team! Now I can get back into this story! Before we start, I would also like to thank the seven awesome people who reviewed the first chapter: you guys rock! :) Enjoy the update, everyone! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mario. The only thing here that I created is the plot. **

/(._.)/

It was a few hours later and the bros, followed by Peach and Starlow, were just now arriving at the large, pink gates of Peach's castle. As Peach and Starlow made quiet conversation in the back of the group, Mario and Luigi were recounting their latest victory:

"And then, BOING! I made my final leap, flipping through the air with a trail of stars at my feet. I gathered all of my courage before flying at the huge beast with everything I had. Then, there was a POW; victory for Mario!" Mario finished describing his attack and ended with a radiant pose.

"I was there too, bro..." Luigi added.

"Oh, right... Sorry, Weegee," Mario replied.

While the bros moved on to discussing Bowser's strange anatomy, Peach and Starlow continued on with their whispered conversation.

"So... What were you guys talking about after we left?" Peach asked, hoping to seem subtle.

"What? Ugh," Starlow replied, obviously annoyed, "Nothing, Peach."

"Oh, come on!" Peach giggled, "he didn't tell you anything?"

Starlow's expression turned from one of annoyance to one of deep thought. "No..." she began, "in fact, he didn't seem to want to talk. He didn't ask for me to be his minion, and he didn't even compliment himself once! There must be something on his mind... "

Peach sighed at her friend's ignorance, and was about to change the subject when Toadsworth arrived to greet the group of four.

"Princess! How wonderful to see that you have safely returned!" Toadsworth greeted Peach before turning to the others. "Masters Mario and Luigi! Madame Starlow! Thank you so much for all of your help. I assume you gave master Bowser a good beating?"

"We sure did, Toadswo-" Luigi began.

"Yeah! First, I went BOING! And then I-" Mario butted in, only to be cut off by Luigi.

"Let's tell him during dinner, bro; I'm starving!" Luigi exclaimed.

"I must admit, I'm quite famished as well," Toadsworth replied. "Let's all get cleaned up, and meet back in the dining hall in exactly one half-hour."

/(._.)/

So, the four friends went their separate ways to clean up for dinner. Peach went towards the royal chambers, thinking about her friend and how to help her get in touch with her feelings. Starlow went towards the guest room that she used whenever she came to aid the Kingdom, still thinking about what had happened at Bowser's castle that day. Mario and Luigi went towards their shared guest room, only thinking about the delicious fettuccine alfredo that awaited them that night.

'What was Peach talking about?' Starlow asked herself as she flew back to her chambers, 'and why did she care so much what Bowser said? She hates the guy, doesn't she?' her eyes went wide. 'DOESN'T SHE?' Starlow stopped, but then shook her head and smiled to herself. 'No... that's stupid. Peach told me about her crush on Mario ages ago, so there's no need for me to worry.'

Starlow made it to her room and was about to take a quick nap when she realized something. 'Wait...' she thought, sitting up on her bed, 'why would I be worrying? Why should I care so much?' She walked over to the bathroom and observed her reflection staring back at at her through the mirror.

'Maybe I should talk to Peach...' Starlow thought with a sigh, before exiting her room once again.

/(._.)/

While Starlow was busy trying to sort out her emotions, Peach was in her chambers brushing her hair and trying to figure out how to get the two lovebirds together.

'If only Bowser had just told her! He's such a coward.' Peach thought about that for a second before giggling to herself. 'Well, I guess I'm one to talk, huh? The truth isn't always easy, especially when it comes to love.'

Peach was just beginning to throw around the idea of love in her head when she heard a gentle knock on her door.

"Starlow?" Peach said upon noticing her small, yellow friend, "what's wrong?

Starlow looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I don't really know," she replied. "Can I come in?"

Peach nodded before leading Starlow to her bed and giving her a hug. "What happened, Starlow? Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?"

Starlow shook her head. "No... At least, not yet," she said. When Peach looked confused, she continued. "I've been feeling... weird. Like, I'm always thinking about this one person, and I just can't stand the fact that we're frienemies instead of friends, and-"

Peach cut her friend off with a squeal. "OH MY GOSH, YOU LIKE BOWSER!" She screamed. She would have also jumped for joy, if she had not first seen her friend's upset look. "Wait... So this crush is a bad thing?" She asked.

Starlow sighed. "No, the crush itself isn't a bad thing," she began, "but rather the fact that it leads to nowhere. First of all, he could never share my feelings; it's just downright impossible. Second of all, I can't even admit it to him. If I said anything, I'm sure that he would just laugh and brush me aside. At that point, even my subconscious would have to admit defeat, and I would be left with nothing."

"Starlow..." Peach began, "that can't be true. I'm sure that he wouldn't do that! You should go ahead and tell him your feelings."

"Yeah, right. But according to you, even Mario would simply laugh in your face. If even a man who loves you so much that he goes out of his way to save you every other week can't be trusted not to break your heart, than how can I trust a man who I've had to fight against not to break my heart?! Maybe it's time that you stop being such a hypocrite, Peach."

With that, Starlow stormed out of the room, leaving a very stunned Princess Peach behind her.

/(._.)/

Dinner, while delicious, was rather quiet that night: the two girls were still mad at each other, Luigi was usually rather quiet, and Mario had already finished recounting his adventure to Toadsworth.

"So... Haw about that Toad Brigade?" Toadsworth asked, attempting to break the ice.

"Oh, I hear that they're doing quite well this season," Peach replied.

"Actually, Peach," Starlow said, "if you payed any attention at all to sports, you'd know that they haven't won a single game yet this season." Unfortunately, this restored the awkward silence.

About five minutes later, just as everyone was preparing to part ways, the shouts of a frightened toad broke the frigid scilence surrounding the group.

"NO! It's too soon! How is he already back?"

"This is terrible! We must warn the princess!"

Suddenly a small, red-spotted toad appeared in the doorway. "PRINCESS!" He shouted, "You must flee! Flee!"

As he ran off, Toadsworth stood up and called to the princess. "Princess, we must get you out of here!" He shouted over the crowd of toads. "We must leave at on-"

Before he could finish, a large hole was blasted in the wall of the dining hall.

And through the dust, one name was called:

"CHIPPY!"

/(._.)/

**A/N: Kind of a cliffie, but you guys can probably guess who it is :) So, what did you think? Feel free to review with polite comments, constructive criticism, flames, or any combination of the three. I kind of know where I'm taking the next chapter, so I'll let you guys know when I start it. Untill then, keep being awesome! :D**


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